‘The Gold Coast needs to grow its business ecosystem’: AutoGuru’s Eden Shirley

The Gold Coast needs to supercharge its business ecosystem and back it up with targeted technology-based incentives if we’re to attract the job creators of the future, a leading entrepreneur says.

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THE Gold Coast needs to supercharge its business ecosystem and back it up with targeted technology-based incentives to attract future job creators, a leading entrepreneur says.

Eden Shirley moved to the Gold Coast in 2005 from Melbourne and four years later established Fixed Price Car Service, an online marketplace for vehicle owners seeking repairs.

That company, now known as AutoGuru, is a $60 million-plus venture with a network of thousands of mechanical workshops around Australia.

Mr Shirley said the Gold Coast offers an array of benefits to business owners from an unmatched lifestyle to a large and varied talent pool. He said the coronavirus crisis had only emphasised these aspects even more. But he said, the business ecosystem - meaning collaboration and support between businesses with an aligned vision - is lacking on the Gold Coast.

AutoGuru founder Eden Shirley. Picture Glenn Hampson

“There is a yearning for it here and a decent-size community but it hasn’t crystallised yet,” he said.

Mr Shirley said for the ecosystem to mature a group of the Coast’s fast-growing companies need to band together and take charge rather than leave it to the State Government.

“I’m starting to get a few of the scale ups together. We haven’t really formed the group yet but (State Government organisation) Advance Queensland wants to do something but I said it needs to be industry led,” he said.

SurfStitch CEO Justin Hillberg outside their premises at Broadbeach. Pic Tim Marsden

“If you want to get something exciting going get the big guys, I’m talking your SurfStitch, us, Gilmour Space Technologies ... together because then the whole community will get behind it because they want to be part of and learn from the big guys.”

He said once established it’d in turn attract companies from capital cities where the ecosystem is more developed.

Mr Shirley said the council can contribute to attracting business through offering a package of incentives such as (e-commerce platform) Shopify and (desktop-as-a-service) Amazon Work Spaces credits.

“Everyone these days is about websites and technology,” he said.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says the council’s investment attraction strategy is working.

“The council should do something like say, here is the package you will qualify for if you move to the Gold Coast. Facilitating the AWS and Shopify credits would be a fair amount of work to put together but it’s not a big cost.

“There are so many businesses that rely on that.”

Mayor Tom Tate said the council’s Investment Attraction programs were paying dividends during the pandemic.

The programs offer services to facilitate investment or business relocation including financial assistance, streamlined development applications, site selection and workforce development.

“From a population point of view, we are seeing hundreds of East Coast residents from key areas like Melbourne and Sydney choose to quit their regions, and move here for a lifestyle choice,’’ he said.

“With that in mind, I want to see more small-to-medium size enterprises also make the move. “That’s the basis of our investment attraction programs which cover marine, tourism infrastructure, film, education, health and knowledge and even sport-based enterprises.”

Cr Tate said the target market is companies wanting to relocate or expand to the Coast from export-focused and knowledge-based industry sectors.

“We are getting runs on the board with businesses relocating, bringing their knowledge, employing locals and contributing to our small-business-driven economy.”

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